Strawberry Tart + White Sangria #SundaySupper

9.02.2012

This whole Sunday Supper brings a lot of different
memories. The theme today is cookout recipes, since it´s Labor Day in the US. Our
worker´s holiday is May 1, one of the two days in the whole year (the other
being Jan 1st) that even shopping centers close.

Do I need an excuse to come up with summery recipes?
Of course not, especially since the last days have been amazingly sunny and
warm.

Since the strawberries at the market were surprisingly sweet
and fat, I decided to make my grandmother´s strawberry pie. It´s simple but
full of flavor and has a delightful syrup on top made with the strawberries´ own
juices.

She was a very travelled and worldly person, and baked double crusted
apple pies and curries when nobody else did here. Her recipe uses sour cream
with sugar, which results in a tangy cream and doesn´t require whipping. I
changed that a bit because I had mascarpone in the fridge, and we all know how
quickly that goes bad. If you don´t like to use gelatin, a few teaspoons of
cornstarch can be added to the juices and cooked until thick.

Either way, the
flavor will come from fresh strawberries and that always beats artificial-flavored
jello.

But before we eat dessert, we have to get the holiday
started with something to drink. Enter the clericó, or white sangria. I used
that name to get you interested. Here, sangria is made with red wine, sugar and
fruit. When white wine is used it´s called clericó. This light colored version
was so popular in the 80´s, I don´t think there´s one of us from that
neon clothing, big hair, shoulder padded era that didn´t drink it. Especially during the summer, after a long day
at the beach. You would go to the beach bar and order a large jar of clerico to
share with friends.

Some of us would only munch at the fruit (banana
pieces my absolute favorite), which got me into trouble anyway, because, after
a while, the fruit would be soaked in a
lot of wine.

For the dough: Roll
and line a square or round 8 inch (23 cm) pie or tart plate with removable
bottom. Prick the bottom dough and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF /180ºC. Line the tart pan with
aluminum foil and beans or pie weights, and bake for 15/20 minutes. Remove the
foil carefully and continue baking 10 to 15 minutes until the dough is fully
baked. Let cool completely on wire rack. Unmold and transfer to serving plate.

For the filling:
Before you start rolling the dough, put the sliced strawberries together with
the sugar in a bowl. Cover and let marinate at room tº, at least 2 hours. If
leaving the mixture more than a few hours keep it refrigerated.

When you´re ready to assemble the tart, pour the
liquid from the strawberries in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat until
reduced to half a cup, about 5 minutes. In a small cup put cold water and
sprinkle gelatin over. Let hydrate a few minutes. Add to the hot, reduced
strawberry syrup that has been removed from the heat, and mix until the gelatin
is completely dissolved. Let this mixture cool in the fridge until it begins to
thicken. Don´t let it set.

Beat the cold cream and mascarpone together with
powdered sugar until thick. Spread this mixture evenly on bottom of cooled
crust. Scatter marinated strawberries on top and then carefully add the cold strawberry
gelatin mixture with a spoon. It might or might not cover the whole surface.

Let the cake set in the refrigerator for 15 minutes,
garnish with mint leaves and serve.

WHITE SANGRIA

Ingredients

1 banana

½ red apple

1/3 cup
blueberries

1/3 cup sliced strawberries

1 orange, unpeeled

½ cup sugar

1 bottle dry white wine

Ice cubes (cold club soda might be used)

Directions

Slice the orange, the banana and the apple. Put them
in a jar together with the rest of the fruit. Add sugar and then half the
bottle of white wine.

With a wooden spoon, mix everything well. Add the rest
of the wine and ice cubes.

Pour wine into glasses and serve. Keep refrigerated.

As usual, our group came up with
extraordinary recipes, which you can look at, pin, cook and bake to your
heart´s content. Check them out!Labor Day
Cookout Recipes:

Wine Pairings

Please be sure you join us on Twitter throughout the day during
#SundaySupper. We’ll be meeting up at 7:00 p.m. EST for our weekly
#SundaySupper live chat where we’ll talk about our favorite cookout
recipes!

Paula, what a feast! The Strawberry Mascarpone Pie (following your grandma´s recipe - what a precious idea) looks delectable and very summery! And the Clericó/White Sangria certainly looks like wonderful summer/party fair as well! I have never seen a recipe for Sangria, white or red, that uses bananas - makes me smile to think that those were your favorite pieces of fruit from this lovely drink!

Absolutely stunning! I don't know which of the two I'm going to try first. My Hubby would love that strawberry tart, but that white sangria looks wonderfully refreshing, especially with all that fruit. :)

What a perfect tart! I am always in search of good strawberry tart recipes, as so many are bland. I think both the sour cream and mascarpone versions sound great. And thanks for the 4-1-1 on the clérico! I never knew it had a name. I made a really rich sangria for my birthday... Yum! Spring is on its way for you - hope it gets to you soon? ~ David

Paula, this is one scrumptious looking tart. You had me drooling over this tart when you posted your sneaky peek on facebook, but now I want it bad. I totally need this tart in my life, and I'm going to dream about it until I make it.